Typically, servers and other computer devices use integral cooling systems to manage temperature sensitive components. One approach to cooling is forced convection. Forced convection cooling involves drawing air inside the device, directing the air to components for cooling. The components typically include heat sinks which help move heat away from the components and into the ambient air, which is exhausted out of the device.
However, the air drawn into the device contains fibers, dust particles, and other particulates. These particulates accumulate within the devices, causing a condition known as heat sink fouling, which progressively worsens the effectiveness of the cooling system. The current approach to address the dust accumulation is to perform regular maintenance to remove the dust. In some cases, air filters may help extend the length of the maintenance period. However, the air filters typically spread the dust over a larger surface area, and merely delay the inevitable maintenance. Use of air filters also causes increased flow impedance of a system resulting in system fans to run at higher speed and spend more energy in cooling the system.
The same numbers are used throughout the disclosure and the figures to reference like components and features. Numbers in the 100 series refer to features originally found in FIG. 1; numbers in the 200 series refer to features originally found in FIG. 2; and so on.